31: Whitehearth

The Mournlands

The Mournlands: Silence. No sound of wind brushing through grass, no insects, no creaking of trees, no birds, nothing. The roads had turned to cracked earth, akin to a desert surface that had broken apart. The grass on either side sparkled, as the blades were now crystalline, various colours of green but seeming incredibly sharp. A lone tree off to one side was a monument, white marble twisted and distorted, flecks of blood red breaking up the monotony. Vision extended to two hundred feet, though through half of that the mists danced, lighter but still there. Perpetual twilight, a glow of something that might be a sun sitting on the horizon, created a haze behind the mists. 

After reclaiming their senses after the travel through the dense wall of mist, Bessok took to working out the direction of travel to where they knew Whitehearth to be, not an easy task in this strange environment. But he seemed convinced of the path they needed to take, and started leading the others slightly off the line of the path, in a more south-easterly direction. The strange grasslands beneath their feet cracked and crunched as the crystalline was broken, though Vinthanamel took to the air due to his softer boots, not wanting to risk his feet being punctured

It didn't take long for them to start seeing the corpses. Though lightly scattered, some seem to have been undead and others their victims, Cyran soldiers struck down by their bites and claws. The soldiers bodies, however, were as fresh as the moment they were struck down, refusing to decompose in this strange place. Some even still bled from their wounds, a slow trickle that stained the ground beneath them, sunk into the earth. Bessok decided to use his medical knowledge to work out what was causing it, but it was nothing medical, it was something to do with the strange magical interference this place seemed to have. A magical interference that struck Vinthanamel the moment he cast a spell. Trying to Detect Magic on the area, the spell mutated as it left him, a wild effect that left a fire upon his hands - painless to him, but a fire that could easily burn whatever it came into contact with. 

Curious, he tried again, a short range teleportation spell that also caused him to immediately turn invisible. Magic was certainly being corrupted here. Leaving the bodies behind, it was evident they could do nothing to help them, they continued along their path for another mile or two - it was hard to tell exactly, the mists moved in odd ways and distances seemed to shrink and grow as they moved.

Breaking the monotony of their journey, a field of beautiful white and red flowers appeared through the mist ahead of them, maybe fifty feet later and inside that field they could see a young blond girl in a white summer dress, seemingly frozen in time, sprinting toward something that - another small amount of travel later - revealed itself to be a village that had been burnt to the ground, only the stone foundations still remaining. 

The Girl in the Flowers

Moving closer to the girl, the group found her to appear alive, except that there was no actual life there, no breathing, no response. Her large blue eyes were open and even twinkled in the twilight, though tear tracks stained her cheeks. The flowers of the field seemed to be embracing this living statue, having grown upwards and wrapped around her exposed legs, the stems piercing through the flesh and out the other side. The flowers and stems appeared normal until closer inspection revealed they were actually crystalline in construction, similar to the grass they had been walking on, and through the stems they could see a pumping flow of blood, as if they were part of her veins.

While the rest of the group were examining this strange girl, Morthwyl and Vinthanamel, curious if they were surrounded permanently by this strange mist, decided to walk away for over a hundred feet, curious to see what the mist would do; were they trapped inside a bubble, or does it expand everywhere? Moving further out they came to realise that the mists were exactly that, thin enough to be able to see through, but distance causes them to appear denser and denser until it completely blocks their line of sight. Unimpressed and perhaps hoping for more, Vinthanamel muttered to Morthwyl and the two made their way back to the group.

Upon their return, Bessok had taken to cutting up the flowers, smashing the crystalline creations piercing the girls legs, which caused a spurt of blood to erupt, staining the nearby white flower petals. A pause, a few moments pass, then another spurt of blood, as if the source of the stems actually had a pulse. Wanting to do something about this, Vinthanamel gathered the girl up in his arms, which felt very disconcerting. Still as warm as the ambient temperature, and with an appearance of someone that was resting, it felt like he was interfering with someone who was sleeping, yet at the same time his mind was convinced beyond a doubt that she was very much dead. After a brief shiver, he flew over the flowers to come to a landing on the edge of the remains of the nearby village, where he gently lay her on the ground.

The others followed behind, quietly discussing the strangeness of the Mournlands while gathering around the corpse of the young girl. Always wary, Joe decided to leave them to it and moved off to examine the village, only having to take a few small steps away from the group before realising that this place was the site of a massacre. Thinking it through and assessing what he was seeing, it appeared that the villagers were brought to the square to meet with some outside force which had turned deadly. Dozens of bodies littered the village square, all of them killed by sword blows or crossbow bolts. Some had had managed to run, but were cut down in their flight, their bodies lying against walls or face down with crossbow bolts in their back. 

Before they even had time to discuss it, however, a lingering awareness seemed to have been triggered. Sounds came from all around, movement inside the remains of the buildings, groans as long dead villagers rose up from inside the ruins, their bodies burnt almost to the bone, stumbling toward what remained of the doors and the sound of the people outside. At the same time, a swirling grey ball of sickly energy started to form and grow in size in the middle of the village square, the dozens of dead bodies starting to slide across the ground towards it, becoming tangled amongst each other and moving in a circle around the ball of energy, their bodies reanimating like the others, moaning and reaching out toward the group that had already starting moving into action.

The zombies were the first targets, as whatever was happening in the village square was taking time to fully form. Joe was first, surrounded by a pair of villagers he lashed out, one killed instantly, the second wounded but continuing to stumble toward him. Morthwyl moved next, rushing forward to a group that were leaving the ruins of a nearby house and hammering home with her weapons. Vinthanamel, concerned about the larger problem, turned himself invisible and took to the air to watch what might happen next. Bessok joined with Morthwyl, assisting her in defeating the zombie villagers. 

The Corpse Mound

But now the mound of corpses had grown to its full size, the churning mass of bodies stumbling and rolling forward toward Morthwyl and Bessok, arms reaching out toward Morthwyl and trapping her in their grasp. More bodies churned in the mass, more arms grabbing and pulling her towards them, bites and strikes seeming to come from multiple sources at once. Unable to escape, she was pulled into the mass, into the centre where the grey ball of energy sent thin tendrils out to start draining her of life. Vinthanamel, having been biding his time, became visible in the air and unleashed a powerful lightning bolt into the mass of corpses, sparks and streaks of electricity crackling over the bodies before disappating.

Wounded and with corpses falling out of the mass, the zombie arms reached out and pulled in their brethren, the burnt up zombies adding more bodies to the pile and seeming to give it more strength. Inside the corpse mound, a terrible cracking noise could be heard, followed swiftly by the jagged bone of a forearm that was thrown directly into Vinthanamel, knocking him out of the sky and to the ground with a painful thud. Deciding to get out of there, he crawled swiftly across the floor to gain some cover behind the stone ruins of a nearby building. 

Despite being trapped inside, Morthwyl could still move enough to cause damage to the biting, clawing bodies that circled around her, though her lifeforce was being consumed steadily by the grey ball of energy at the centre. Bessok called down a beam of light that turned some of the burnt up zombies to dust, the mass also caught in the blast, chunks of destroyed arms and legs being thrown out onto the ground.

The Crest of House Cannith

But it was Joe who had the final word, as he pulled an undead slaying arrow out of his quiver and loosed it into the mound of corpses. It pierced straight through the centre, Morthwyl briefly seeing it pass by her head as it destroyed the ball of grey energy. The constantly churning bodies, suddenly without power, were thrown in all directions, leaving Morthwyl standing there surrounded by them, her body covered in blood and gore and who knew what else.

With everyone left wounded by that encounter, Bessok gathered them around for some healing, then summoned a giant goat, his favourite form of transportation, and told them he was going to search for the mine entrance. It didn't take long, just outside the remains of the village a small path turned off toward some nearby hills, descending toward the mouth of a mine entrance. Above the entrance, burnt into the wooden beams that secured it, was the familiar crest of House Cannith.

Map of Whitehearth

Once everyone was gathered, the group made their way through the tunnel opening into a large, rough-hewn stone chamber (W1). Further ahead, three snaking tunnels lead in different directions, with no signs or indication of which would be the correct path to take. At first they took a left turn and found a four foot wide adamantine hatch set into the floor, a small socket coated in blue enamel acting as the locking mechanism. This reminded them of the keycharm given by Lady Elaydren, and so Bessok took it out and opened the hatch, only to find it was a fake, a trap; electricity arced painfully through his body.

So to the right turn, then left to another hatch. Not wanting to risk it straight away, the group continued downwards and found another two hatches. Which would be the correct one to open? Bessok reached out to his God to find out if the first was correct, but was told it wasn't, so Joe pulled out a Wand that Detected Traps. He found two on the furthest, only one on the nearest. Perhaps then, the nearest would be the path to take? Bessok inserted the keycharm and opened the hatch, closing his eyes briefly in expectation, but this time he was greeted to the real hatch, a metal ladder attached to the wall of a shaft leading down into complete darkness that even their enhanced vision couldn't pierce.

A little wary after the previous traps, they climbed cautiously down into a circular chamber (W2), a small room with the ladder leading down to the centre. An everbright lantern did its best to illuminate the small room, but the damage caused during the Mourning had made it no more useful than a flickering candle. A panel built into the wall opposite had a variety of access holes, similar to the one used on the hatch above, able to accept keycharms of various colours. Not sure what to expect, or even how to work it for a few minutes, they finally decided to try one of the blue holes, but to leave only one of them in the chamber. Joe was the sacrifice, the others climbing back up the ladder and out of sight.

Rotator Panel A

When the others had gone, Joe slotted the keycharm into a blue hole, the north east angle. A panel slid across the opening above, sealing off the ladder, and the whole chamber started to vibrate, the sensation of movement as it re-positioned itself. After almost a minute, a door opened in front of Joe, leading into a long white corridor with everbright lanterns providing the same illumination as the chamber, flickering dim light (W4). The scent of burnt wood and charred flesh rushed in, the sight of soot and ash coating the corridor and sticking to the walls and ceiling. Further down, he could see a metal door at the end of the hall had melted into slag. A glow from beyond that door radiated like an intense bonfire.

Nope! Pulling the keycharm out, Joe switched its position to the centre of the panel. The door closed again and the chamber vibrated as it rotated around on the spot, until finally it stopped and the ceiling above re-opened to show the ladder. Climbing up briefly to alert the group it was working, Joe lead the others back down into the chamber and they considered where to go next. That last room didn't look too friendly.

Deciding to try the opposite side, north west, the panel above closed once again, sealing off the ladder, and the chamber vibrated as it began to turn. The door opened to a corridor of plain grey stone (W8), more flickering everbright lanterns embedded in the walls but, as is a constant here, providing very little light. A few trails of crusted blood ran across the floor, as if someone was dragged down the corridor. An open archway led to the left at the end of the corridor, a propped open door was straight ahead, and another to the right was closed. 

Now back together as a team, any concern of safety left them and they proceeded down the corridor, though took it slowly and quietly. Looking in to the left they found a longer room (W10), a pool of fresh water that looked like a large bath in one area, while further back was a row of latrines. More importantly, two wolves were pacing around, wolves which immediately panicked at the sight of the group of humanoids. Barking and howling, their ears went back and they curled away, something Morthwyl recognised as genuine fear rather than a threat. 

Rorsa, Dire Wolf

Stepping up ahead, Morthwyl tried to calm the wolves, holding out a hand to show she meant no threat, but they didn't seem to understand or, perhaps, were too used to being at the mishandled end of people like her. With his Robe of Eyes, Vinthanamel was the first to detect movement from the room beside them, a large Dire Wolf stepping into the doorway and actually speaking softly in the Common language. "Please don't hurt them.", she asked. The Dire Wolf introduced herself as Rorsa, intelligent enough to be friendly and understanding, a change that she wasn't sure how she acquired. Years ago, as the others stopped breathing, so she became aware, awakened. 

The group asked if she would like to be released, to be taken outside, but she didn't have an idea of what the 'outside' was like. If she was going to be released, however, she asked if the other group of wolves could also be released with her. That they were trapped in cages, near where a strange wolf patrolled, one she had tried to fight once before but was almost killed in the attempt. She had the keycharm to reach them. The group agreed and took her keycharm, a green one this time, promised they'd be back, then made their way back to the rotating chamber.

Rotator Panel B

Inserting the new green keycharm into the first of the green positions, facing south west, the chamber once again rotated and this time opened up into an empty corridor with a door into another chamber, much like the one they were standing in (W14). This one had a different set of slots for keycharms, including some colours they hadn't seen on the previous. Except for back the way they came, the only other position they could use was again to the south west, another green slot. 

The door hissed shut and the room began to rotate, finally opening on a corridor leading down and then turning southwards. Morthwyl and Joe were up first, pacing slowly forward until they could see the kennels ahead (W16), grey wolves pacing around nervously inside. Moving closer, Joe and Morthwyl both met eyes with a creature padding its way around the outside of the kennels. It had the shape of a wolf, but plates of black marble had been fused to its flesh, its muzzle had been replaced by an elongated maw filled with row upon row of obsidian teeth.

Perhaps driven mad by whatever had happened to it, the creature immediately rushed in to attack, biting first at Joe as Morthwyl moved alongside to bring her hammer down upon it. Seeing the damage this stone-like wolf was causing, Bessok rushed in and pounced upon it, grappling it into place. As the attacks rained down upon the now pinned creature, so Bessok flipped it over and dropped it heavily to the ground, leaving it prone and pinned. It tried its best to fight back, but with Bessok's new magical item, he had a formidable amount of strength. Before it had a chance to escape, Morthwyl hammered the life out of it, a final wolf-like whimper reminding the group of what it used to be.

Pushing the creature aside, Bessok got back to his feet, as Vinthanamel passed them by to look around the room and the cages that contained the many wolves, seemingly being kept alive by a feeding machine that would refill their bowls every few hours. Also in the room, however, he noticed a pile of what looked like garbage, but was actually a collection of items from the people who had died in the area, items that included an orange keycharm. That gave them new options!

Rotator Panel C

After a discussion about their next goal, they decided that, rather than wander randomly, they would go methodically, so the group returned to the very first rotating chamber (W2) and slotted their green keycharm into the south eastern slot to see where it would take them. The room vibrated, turned on the spot, then a door opened to a similar location to that of the other green slot. A corridor with another rotating chamber at the end (W18). This one, again, had different coloured slots, though they stuck to their plan and returned to the main chamber to try the next location.

The first choice was the western-most blue slot, the chamber rotating until it opened this time to a smaller corridor leading to an office (W12). Surprisingly, the everbright lantern here was still functional, illuminating what appeared to be a small library or study, with two sturdy oak desks and shelves lined with scrolls and leather-bound books. A search through revealed most to be business ledgers dealing with food purchases and receipts for bulk spell components. The corpse of a female clerk lay slumped over one of the desks, though as with all the other corpses they've encountered, this one too looked more alive than dead. Joe's keen eyes noticed she was laying upon a scroll, which was revealed to be a scroll of resist energy.

Gathering anything of use, the group returned to the main chamber again and this time used the eastern-most blue slot, the chamber turning to another corridor lined with floor to ceiling shelves, full of fresh bedsheets, blankets, towels and clothing (W3). While they watched, a white tunic lifted itself out of a basin, folded itself, and stacked itself neatly upon a shelf. Vinthanamel, however, able to naturally see invisible, could see the familiar shape of an unseen servant working away, no doubt a permanent one that was continuously washing the linen for the rest of time.

There was nothing worth collecting here and so it was back to the main chamber, and the decision was made to face whatever was behind the north-east slot, the scorched corridor Joe found while alone. Describing what he had seen, they all either drank potions to resist against fire, or resistance spells, then the keycharm was inserted into the slot and the chamber rotated. Perhaps feeling brave, Vinthanamel was first out of the door, leading the way, Morthwyl and Bessok close behind, with Joe keeping a longer distance. As their footsteps echoed around the corridor (W4), so a bead of red light shot out from the distant room, a red light that Vinthanamel recognised as the centre point of a fireball. Wincing in preparation, the bead of light stopped between Vinthanamel and Bessok, then promptly exploded, coating everyone in fire, except for Joe who was wise enough to stay back.

A Living Fireball

It would have been more simple if there was a pyromancer up ahead, but instead, the fireball stayed where it was, it's heat radiating around the corridor, arms of fire reaching out to roast Morthwyl and Bessok. This was no ordinary fireball, this had become corrupted during the Day of Mourning and was now alive; a living fireball. Moving away at speed, Vinthanamel turned the corner ahead into an area similar to that where they found the wolves, a large bath and latrines (W6). Meanwhile, the living fireball moved around the dwarves to capture Joe in its next powerful explosion, the interior of the main rotating chamber almost glowing red with the heat of the explosion.

Ahead of Vinthanamel, at the far end of the room, he spotted a body slumped in the corner of the latrines. Leaving the others to the fight, he rushed over to investigate, searching the body and finding another key, this one coloured brown. More options! Shouts and the crackle of flame echoed down the corridor as Morthwyl and Bessok engaged with the fireball, Joe firing arrow after arrow into its amorphous body. With the aid of the fire resistance, though it was strong, it couldn't bring them down before they could do the same to it. A final strike from Morthwyl caused the flame to dissipate, shimmer and flicker away until it was no more.

That was more than they expected, but at least their resistances had kept them safe. When Vinthanamel returned with the brown keycharm, they decided to use that one next, slotting it into the northward facing hole. The room turned and opened to a short corridor with a door at the end that was locked, a normal everyday lock. Joe balked at the idea and had it open with a set of lockpicks quicker than the group could ask if he could open it. The room beyond (W7) was nothing more than a supply room, shelves full of dried or magically preserved food, skins full of water and wine, mundane supplies like clothing, bedding and rope. Almost giving up on the search, they found a small box with a collection of healing potions inside.

Back to the main chamber and it was the southern facing brown slot this time. The room rotated around and opened into a dining hall and kitchen area (W13). This seems to have been where most of the facility staff were at the time the Day of Mourning struck. Ten bodies sat at the tables, appearing as if they were in a daze, no signs of harm, eyes open, and yet irrevocably dead. Moving quietly around this dining hall turned morgue, they uncovered a few more keycharms of the same colours they already owned, and so they left the area with a final glance back as the door closed on the main chamber.

With nowhere left to go in this chamber, the group returned to the second chamber (W14) to try their orange keycharm for the first time. The chamber steadily rotated and the door opened to the south east, heading down a sloped corridor before turning east toward a room that they could see was illuminated with an array of flashing lights of all colours of the rainbow. Moving closer, they could see it was a room of mirrors, reflecting the light from a nearby source and bouncing it in all directions. Not sure what they were going to face, the two strongest, Bessok and Morthwyl, moved ahead first, Bessok smashing one of the mirrors as he entered the room. As he did so, however, he also spotted the source of the light. A glowing ball of energy hovered in the north-east corner, light radiating in every direction, so bright he had to turn his head away.

Morthwyl followed up behind Bessok, keeping to the southern end of the room, smashing mirrors as she went. The ball of energy, now aware of their presence, moved forward. Vinthanamel had a brief moment to realise this was a colour spray, but like the fireball, this one was alive, before it radiated light in all directions, causing everyone, even those further along the corridor, to be immediately struck blind. Moving to attack Morthwyl immediately after, rays of radiating light impacted into her, burning through her armour and into her skin. 

Joe had enough of a moment to realise where the living spell last was and released a flurry of arrows, both impacting into the ball of energy despite firing blind. Vinthanamel followed with a similar plan, he knew enough to unleash a lightning bolt in the spell's direction, unfortunately unable to control the angle so also catching Morthwyl in the blast. Pulling out the potions he had found in the supply room, Bessok drank one to remove his blindness, then passed the other to Morthwyl to do the same. This allowed her enough time to unleash a flurry of attacks on the living spray, enough for the combined effort of the group to finally cause it to burst into one final bright explosion. When the light dissipated, the spell was no more.

With the blindness fading quickly, the group rejoined each other inside the room of mirrors, what remained of them, with Bessok ensuring everyone was fit and ready to continue. Joe wasn't waiting around, however, he moved along to the next door and pushed it open, stepping forward into a room which he realised was an illusion, a scrying chamber looking into another room that they hadn't encountered yet (W20). 

The illusion showed an eldritch machine, a large crucible filled with bubbling molten glass, long snaking heads made of iron and brass rising up from the molten pool like some metal hydra. Huge bonfires burnt next this accursed machine, fire wrapped in molten metal that swirled around their exterior. In front of the crucible sat a crystalline chest made of a translucent material, allowing Joe to spot what they were looking for; the diamond-shaped schema. Turning around to leave, he also found a red keycharm hanging from a hook on the wall, which he grabbed before joining the others.

After explaining what he had seen, it was time to find the viewed location, and that could only possibly be by using the third and final rotating chamber. From one chamber to another they travelled, until finding themselves back to the only one they hadn't used yet (W18). Should they use the red keycharm or the orange first? Red may be the final destination, so they wanted to try the orange first. Slotting in the keycharm the chamber slowly rotated, slowed down to a painful grind, then the everbright lantern flickered off, leaving them in darkness. A brief second later and they were falling, the bottom of the chamber had retracted and they were falling toward a pool of water over thirty feet below.

Some were able to react quickly to avoid the fall, others splashed roughly into the water beneath. Using a magical rope, Bessok was able to tie it firmly to the everbright lantern and cautiously brought everyone back to safety. Staying awkwardly in place, Joe removed the keycharm and tried again, this time inserting the red, then the orange keycharms. With a hiss, the floor returned, the lantern flickered back on, and the room started to vibrate as it slowly turned to face north east.

The door opened and a corridor angled downwards until straightening out and turning north toward a pair of huge adamantine doors bearing the seal of House Cannith (W21). Waves of heat poured off the doors, rippling through the corridor, the raising temperature already causing the group to show beads of sweat. Fire resistance was applied again and then a plan was made; Joe knew where the schema was stored, he could sneak in there invisibly and secure it, while the others kept the elementals at bay. This was agreed upon and Vinthanamel cast invisibility on Joe before opening the door to allow him through.

As soon as the door was open, Joe rushed into the room (W22), passing the elementals and crossing to the chest that held the schema. The elementals, unaware of him but realising the door was open, rushed forward to attack whatever was out there. Not enough space for both of them, one of the elementals stayed back while the other rushed into Bessok and Morthwyl who responded in kind. The heat, however, was incredible here, sapping the energy out of them all a little at a time and making things harder the longer they stayed. 

Molten Metal Elementals

Hoping fighting fire with water might work, Vinthanamel summoned a water elemental that appeared in front of the fire elemental that had stayed back, engulfing it in water and holding on to try and drown it. These were a different kind of elemental, however, molten metal floated around them from the machine they had broken free from, and it caused enough damage to soon send the water elemental back to its home plane.

Allowing Morthwyl to take over the fighting for a moment, Bessok reached out to the mind of the elemental they were fighting, telling it they were going to destroy it if it didn't stop, to which it gave a maybe unexpected response. "Free Us!", it screamed back at the Dwarf, the response causing a stir amongst the group as Bessok shared that request to the others through their telepathic communication. Bessok told the elemental that if they stopped fighting then they would help, the elemental speaking in its native tongue to the other about the request, which sounded like little more than the crackling of wood in a fireplace. 

By this time Joe had picked the lock on the crystalline chest, reached inside and grabbed everything he could, securing away the schema and everything else he had found. Moving back toward the group, he noticed a lever inside one of the alcoves he hadn't noticed on the way in, which he also relayed to the others through their telepathic link. The elementals, still under attack from Morthwyl and naturally enraged from being enslaved for so long, continued fighting, the heat now so all consuming that both Bessok and Joe were stumbling from exhaustion. 

Reaching over as he stumbled close, Joe flicked the lever down and a section of the roof opened up directly above the eldritch machine. Its brass and iron 'necks' extended, the heads of the hydra-like creation extending toward the sky. The elementals, feeling the cooler air reaching the room, pulled away from combat and backed away, the two communicating with each other before flying at speed out of the opening above them and into the misty air outside. The heat slowly dissipated, though the exhaustion and sweat remained. 

Tired and wounded, they made their way back to the Dire Wolf, Rorsa, and to the barracks behind her (W9). Rest was very much needed by all, and so they used the beds inside the barracks, while Rorsa travelled to the kennels to recover her grey wolf brethren..